


Food for the Heart

by TheFunk



Category: NCT (Band), WAYV
Genre: Canon Compliant, Comfort, Comfort Food, Cooking, Cute, Family Dynamics, Fluff, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Gen, Implied Relationships, Like, Nicknames, OT7, Platonic Relationships, Plushies, Qian Kun is Whipped, Qian Kun-centric, Slice of Life, Team as Family, Yang Yang is a baby, a split second, the most minor of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-25 04:35:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21870163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFunk/pseuds/TheFunk
Summary: Qian Kun loves his members, even when they constantly barge into his kitchen while he's making dinner.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun (hinted), Qian Kun & Everyone
Comments: 12
Kudos: 163
Collections: kuniversism





	Food for the Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This was really fun to write! I feel like I don't give Kun all the love he deserves so I was glad this fest allowed me to focus on him a little more!

Kun hummed quietly to himself as he pulled ingredients from the freezer. The cold air blasted him, and he shivered, but he continued to pull the items out. He pulled the chicken out first because he needed to give it time to thaw. With all the boys in the dorm, he needed a lot of chicken. He chuckled as he kept pulling the chicken from the fridge, watching it pile high on the counter. He made his way to the pantry, pulling vegetables and oils from it. 

They finally had a day off, no practice and no filming, and Kun wanted to make his members a home-cooked meal. They spent much of their time eating take out or from restaurants, and Kun knew that was no way for his boys to live. Most of them were grown but Yangyang was still growing, still a baby at heart, and needed to eat as well as possible. There was no hope for Ten, but little Yangyang and Dejun still had a chance to grow taller and stronger. Maybe even Kunhang could have a chance to grow too. Either way, his boys needed to eat well to stay strong and healthy, especially with their busy schedules.

He set the ginger on the cutting board and began cutting it into slices. He wanted to make them thin enough to cook quickly, but not so thin that he was putting his fingers at risk. It was a fine line to walk, but he’d done it so many times before that it almost came second nature to him. He pushed the ginger to the side and began to cut the spring onion, making sure to make the cuts diagonal. He was sure they would have been fine cut another way, but this was how his mother taught him, so it was by default the best way to cut them.

Kun heard rustling beside him and he set his knife down. Xuxi was hunched over in the pantry, messing up the many packages so carefully tucked away inside. Kun sighed and placed his hands on his hips. Of all his boys to be trying to eat right before dinner, it would be Xuxi. he had the biggest appetite of them all, and always seemed to be hungry. But that didn’t give him the right to try and eat before dinner. Right in front of Kun as he cooked it even.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Kun asked.

Xuxi froze where he stood, head slowly turning to face Kun. His eyes were wide, and his mouth hung open a little. Kun would have laughed at how funny it was if he weren’t trying to be strict with him.

“Oh! Hi, Kun ge! I was just getting a snack,” Xuxi said.

“You don’t need a snack Xuxi, dinner is going to be ready in twenty minutes. If you eat now, you’ll just spoil your dinner.”

“But Kun ge, I–”

“No buts! Get out of here. Go play and it’ll be done before you know it.”

Xuxi pouted and Kun sighed. He waved Xuxi over and placed a cracker in his mouth. Xuxi’s eyes lit up and Kun couldn’t help but to pinch the taller boy’s cheek.

“That’s all you get, now go play.”

Xuxi called over his shoulder, “Thanks ge!”

Kun shook his head in exasperation. Curse Xuxi and his lethal puppy dog eyes. He slipped his hands into a pair of plastic gloves. He moved the chicken in front of him and began to trim the fat from the pieces. He felt warmth fill him as he watched strips of thick white fat be sliced from the meat. The less fat on the meat, the healthier the meat would be, and the stronger his boys would be. He began to cut the lean chicken into cubes, piling them into a bowl at his side. The thump of the knife on the cutting board after every slice made his satisfaction grow.

“Kun ge!” The voice that called his name was loud and panicked. It sounded on the edge of tears.

He dropped his knife at the yell. Yangyang ran into the kitchen, pout fixed firmly on his mouth. He sniffed as he came to a stop in front of him and Kun ripped his plastic gloves from his hands. He took Yangyang’s face in his hands and checked him for injuries. Yangyang only sniffed as Kun checked him over.

“What happened baobei, are you okay?” Kun asked.

Yangyang sniffled and rubbed at his eye with his fist, “Xuxi ge hurt Kitty.” 

Yangyang held out his hand and Kun sighed with relief as he saw the Hello Kitty plush Yangyang was holding. Yangyang brought the Hello Kitty plushie with him everywhere they went, especially when they had to take a plane ride anywhere. Ten often joked that it was Yangyang’s emotional support plushie.

“Look at the rip ge ge, she’s ripped,” Yangyang held the plushie close to Kun’s face.

Kun grabbed the plushie and sure enough, there was a rip where the head met the body. The white stuffing was poking out of the rip and Kun tried to gently push it back inside the hole. Kun sighed and noted that it would need to be sewn back together.

“I’m sure he didn’t mean to. After dinner, I’ll sew her up and she’ll be as good as new, okay?”

Yangyang took Hello Kitty back and sniffled, “I’m gonna kill him.”

He began to run away and Kun sighed and called after him, “Do NOT kill Xuxi. Xuxi! Apologize to Yangyang!”

Xuxi’s voice called back to him, “Okay ge!”

Kun smiled to himself and went back to his cooking. He turned to the stove, flicked the heat on, and set his pan on the burner. He splashed the oil in and waited for the oil to heat up. Once he heard the tell-tale pop of heated oil he threw in his spring onion, garlic, and ginger in the pan. He shuffled the pan on the burner, and let the vegetable stir fry. He was about to put the chicken in when he felt a presence just behind him.

“Ge, can I help?”

Sicheng stood close behind him and dropped his chin to rest on Kun’s shoulder. Kun hummed and patted the top of Sicheng’s head. Usually he would love the help he was being offered, but the meal he was making was so easy he didn’t really need any.

“Thanks, Chenggie, but don’t worry about it, I’ve got it. I’ll be done in about twenty minutes. Besides, I think Kunhang wanted to talk to you about something,” Kun said.

Sicheng hummed in his ear before pulling away from his shoulder, “Okay, just call me if you need me.”

Sicheng left silently and Kun could hardly hear his steps as he walked away. He smiled to himself and put the chicken in the pan. The chicken began to sizzle as it touched the pan. He moved the chicken around the pan so the pieces would gain color on all sides. The smell of the chicken wafted up into his nose and it smelled so good. He wiggled as he cooked, happy that it smelled so good. He added the cooking wine and smiled at the sizzle of the alcohol. He splashed in the soy sauce and then the dark soy sauce. He didn’t bother to measure it. His mother never did so he never did either. It always tasted good so he had no reason to change it. When the color of the chicken was how he wanted it to be he threw the dried chili in the pan. He allowed it to cook for a little longer before he pulled the pan from the heat.

He pulled his wok out from under the counter and began to fill it with water. He set it on the stove and waited for the water to boil. When it finally heated he added the chicken in gently. After that, he added in the salt, chicken powder, potato, and carrots. He placed the lid on the wok and turned the heat up to high. He set the timer for fifteen minutes and let it sit.

“Ge ge ge! Look what Sicheng ge taught Dejun!” Kunhang ran into the kitchen, Dejun hot on his heels.

Kun looked away from the stove and almost laughed at their faces. They both had giant grins on their faces and their eyes almost had stars in them. They practically jumped where they stood.

“What did Sicheng teach you?” Kun asked.

Dejun grinned, “He taught me how to do the splits!”

Before Kun could say anything, Dejun dropped to the floor in a split. Kun gasped out a laugh. Dejun sat on the floor, his bright eyes staring up into Kun’s own. Kun smiled down at him.

“He sure did. Good job Dejunnie,” Kun said.

Dejun fell to the side and Kun helped him get to his feet. Kunhang hopped on his toes and grabbed Kun’s arm.

“He did good, right ge?” Kunhang asked.

Kun patted Kunhang on the head, “He sure did. Did you help him?”

Kunhang nodded, “I did, I did!”

“Good job sweetheart.”

“Okay boys leave Kun alone and let him finish cooking,” a voice called from the doorway of the kitchen.

Kun turned and saw Ten standing in the doorway, small smile on his face.

Dejun pouted, “But Ten ge...”

Ten pointed behind him, “Go. Kun is making dinner and you’re distracting him. I think Yangyang wanted to show you something. Go on, don’t leave the baby waiting.”

The two younger boys hustled from the room and Kun chuckled after them. For how much the boys teased Yangyang, they would drop everything if they thought he needed them. Kun laughed as he watched them run from the room. His boys were so cute.

Ten walked up behind him, wrapped his arms around him, and rested his head against Kun’s shoulder.

“Did Yangie actually need them?” Kun asked.

Ten shook his head, “No, but I figured I should get them out of your hair while you make dinner.”

The alarm on Kun’s phone beeped and he turned it off as quickly as he could. He turned the heat down as he took the cover off the wok. He pulled a chopstick from the drawer and pierced a piece of chicken. When it went through cleanly he made a hum of happiness and turned the stove off.

“It’s done,” he said.

He stirred the chicken a few more times and leaned into where Ten was wrapped around him. They stood there for a minutes or so before Ten let go of Kun.

“Alright, I’m gonna go get the boys.”

Kun hummed in reply and scooped the braised chicken into a serving dish. He sprinkled coriander over the top and allowed himself to breathe in the heavenly scent. He set the dish on the kitchen table and made sure it was in the center. He was just about finished with the rest of the place settings when the boys ran into the kitchen. They fell into their seats and immediately tried to reach for the dish of braised chicken. Sicheng held it up away from them and helped scoop the food into each of their dishes.

Warmth filled Kun’s chest as they each made their declarations of how good the meal was. He smiled over them and watched as they stuffed themselves full. They thanked him in a loud chorus of “Thank you Kun ge” and “It’s so good Kun mama”. He ignored the calls of mama, but he appreciated each of their thank you’s. And if he had to endure them calling him mom, well, that was fine. So long as they were happy and healthy.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Leave me a kudos or a comment if you did, I'd love to know!


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